This invention relates to cylindrical modular electrical connectors. More particularly, it relates to electrical connectors having a plug and receptacle with a plurality of cavities adapted to receive replaceable modules with a predetermined number of holes for receiving a predetermined number of contacts and means for securing the modules in the cavities.
Multiple contact cylindrical electrical connectors are usually constructed with a fixed number of holes through the plug and receptacle for receiving a fixed number of contacts. Once the array of holes has been constructed, the usage of that connector is more or less limited to a particular purpose. If a different pattern of holes is needed, then the connector must be redesigned and retooling for the manufacture of such a connector must be done. Even if the contacts are easily replaced, the hole positions are fixed. A large amount of inventory of connectors therefore must be maintained in order to provide the various electrical connections required. This retooling and high inventory requirement is wasteful since quite often various industries use the same size connector but different contact arrays. The differences could be the location of the contacts, the number of contacts, or the contact size needed for a particular function.